The Medium is the newsletter of ARLIS/Texas-Mexico and is currently published exclusively on the chapter's Web site. The first issue to appear on the Web site was the summer 2000 issue, though the publication first appeared in paper form in 1974. A project is underway to transfer older electronic editions to the new Web site. View the publication history beginning with the first issue.
Each issue includes information about chapter activities, news from members, and special reports. The issue following the chapter's annual meeting, held in the fall of each year, contains reports from the meeting, including the business meeting minutes and reports covering any special programs or tours.
Welcome to the third issue of volume 33 of The Medium. This issue is packed with summaries of tours from our annual chapter meeting in Dallas--who knew that such familiar territory could take on a new visage with all the varied venues and events to which we were treated? Our collective gratitude again goes to Gwen Dixie, who arranged every aspect with such effortless command (and even hosted us for dinner at her house!). We also have an excellent summary of our Dallas panel session, Collecting Early Texas Art, from our chapter president. In addition to items related to our annual meeting, this issue also features some announcements and summaries of events throughout the state, such as the Texas Digital Library meeting in Austin and the upcoming AASL conference in Houston. You'll also find a collection profile (thanks Elizabeth!) and a report from our ARLIS/NA South Regional Representative (thanks again, Elizabeth!). I also want to call attention and appreciation to Catherine Essinger, who has agreed to take over the Architecture Libraries News column from Janine Henri, who has left us for dreary Los Angeles (we miss you already, Janine). Catherine's contact information is on the Colophon page of this issue. Enjoy!
The 2007 ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico Chapter Annual Meeting in Dallas got off to a great start with a leisurely ramble through the Raymond Nasher Sculpture Center. The “Nasher,” designed by architect Renzo Piano and landscape architect Peter Walker opened in 2003. The museum and garden consists entirely of modern and contemporary sculpture. Of particular note is the building’s roof, an engineering marvel designed by the London-based architectural consulting firm Arup. Their engineers plotted the sun's yearly path across the Dallas sky and then created a protective ‘sunscreen’ consisting of over a half-million aluminum ‘shells’ that deflect the sun’s damaging rays while flooding the galleries with natural sunlight.
Following dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s Café Nasher, the inimitable Gwen Dixie led us on a walking tour of the surrounding Arts District. We gathered to observe firsthand what is now called “the largest urban cultural district in the nation” consisting of Dallas’ best multi-cultural art, music, and dance venues situated on nearly 69 acres in the northeast section of downtown. According to Gwen, the Dallas Arts District was conceived and developed from 1977 to 1984 through a cooperative effort by the City of Dallas and private art foundations. The Dallas Museum of Art, the Dallas Theater Center, and the Trammell Crow Center all opened in 1984, forming the nucleus of an area already graced by historic structures such as the Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe, St. Paul United Methodist Church, and the Belo Mansion.
The tour began in front of the Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, which unfortunately we were not able to enter. Gwen stated that the treasures on display in the building are from the personal collection of Dallas real estate czar Trammel Crow and his wife Margaret. The art objects were acquired from Japan, China, India, and Southeast Asia dating from 3500 B.C. to the early 20th century.
Around the corner in the next block appeared the beautiful Neo-Gothic Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe designed over 100 years ago by the legendary Texas architect Nicolas Clayton. The recent exterior renovation was based on drawings discovered in Galveston's Rosenberg Library. Two steeples have been added to complete Clayton’s original vision.
Just across the street from the Cathedral is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center designed by I.M. Pei who worked with the famed acoustical engineer Russell Johnson. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Turtle Creek Chorale, the Dallas Wind Symphony and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra all perform in this magnificent hall. Next to the Meyerson is the Annette Strauss Artist Square named after the former Dallas mayor who was a stalwart supporter of the arts. It serves as an outdoor venue for music, dance, theatre, festivals, and almost every other imaginable outdoor gathering.
In the middle of a giant fenced-off construction area Gwen pointed out a most interesting structure designed by Foster & Partners called the Winspear Opera House. This latest addition to the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is scheduled for completion in 2009. The design is a horseshoe configuration like many of the old acoustically superior opera houses in Europe.
Looking behind us we could barely make out the sprawling campus of the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts. The school has the nickname “Grammy High” because of the number of graduates who have won Grammy Awards. We could only think of two—Norah Jones and Erykah Badu—among the many. Founded in 1892 in a different location, it was known as the “Dallas Colored High School” because it was the only high school in the city that allowed African American students. It has now become one of the preeminent schools in the country for the study of the performing arts.
And so to Gwen Dixie, a proud member of the Dallas Arts District Alliance, many thanks from the ARLIS strollers for your informative glimpse of what can be truly called an urban cultural miracle!
Edward Lukasek
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
The ARLIS Texas-Mexico group met at the lobby of the Warwick Melrose Hotel and headed to the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) for a self-guided tour. On Thursdays, the DMA is open late and has live music. While live jazz was playing in the dining area, a group of us walked up to tour the Mildred R. and Frederick M. Mayer Library.
Texas State University San Marcos librarians Karen Sigler, Selene Hinojosa, and Tara Spies in front of the Mayer Library at the DMA.
Librarians Mary Leonard and Jacqueline Allen gave us a brief tour and answered our questions. The library has over 55,000 titles and is still growing. They serve the public and the curatorial staff at the DMA. They have two reference areas and their collection is mainly focused on art reference materials, periodicals and serials. They also have artist files. The current library was built in 1991 with the renovation of the DMA. After the tour, we were on our own to explore the DMA galleries, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Crow Collection of Asian Art. We met for dinner at the Nasher Sculpture Center and went on a wonderful tour of the downtown arts district with Gwen Dixie.
Carla Ellard
Texas State University
What a treat! Brad Hamilton was the most amazing tour guide. His passion for the Texas State Fair and Fair Park was obvious. Fair Park was the site of the first World’s Fair in the Southwest, which took place in 1936. Fair Park has marvelous art deco structures, murals, and sculptures. Bob Thorton and George Dahl lobbied to get the World’s Fair in Dallas in 1936 for the Texas Centennial. Each building has a rich history. For example the first public radio station in Texas was in the annex building on the Fair Park grounds. Brad told us so many interesting tidbits.
Margaret Culbertson led members on a tour of Waxahachie’s downtown square and a historic residential district. Ms. Culbertson, a former resident of Waxahachie, is currently the Director of the Hirsch Library at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
The tour began at the Rogers Hotel, a Prairie Style hotel of reinforced concrete. It was designed by architect C.D. Hill in 1912. After two hotels on the site burned down, the Rogers was designed to be as fire-resistant as possible.
The hotel anchors one corner of the courthouse square. The Ellis County Courthouse stands at the center of that square. It was designed by James Riely Gordon, though his association is somewhat accidental. The contractor, Otto Kroeger was hired to construct the courthouse and sold Ellis County the plans of his business associate, Gordon. It is unlikely that Gordon visited Waxahachie during the design process or building construction. He had earlier devised five courthouse plans that could be customized by government contractors. Construction progress was reported daily in the local newspaper. The carved stonework on the Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse is a highlight of the building. Carving was supervised by Harry Herley, a German craftsman who emigrated to Texas in 1890. A local legend that the carved faces chronicle Herley’s unrequited love affair persists. The uglification of the faces supposedly mirrors Herley’s increasing dissatisfaction with a local girl which did not return his affection. The accuracy of this legend cannot be confirmed, however.
In addition to the Rogers Hotel and the Ellis County Courthouse, the square is home to the Citizen’s National Bank, built in 1894, and Oddfellows’ Hall, built in 1895, and the Webb Gallery (see Craig Bunch’s review of the Webb Gallery below).
The tour continued along W. Main St. to a residential neighborhood which largely developed after Trinity University moved to Waxahachie in 1902, diversifying the local economy. Ms. Culbertson noted a number of houses that exemplify the local style. L-plan and T-plan houses were typical, as was gingerbread carpentry. Notable houses included the Rogers bungalow, built in 1915, the Chostka House, built in 1904, a house on 711 with decorative relief in terracotta, and Prairie Style houses at 700 and 705. The Anderson house and servants’ quarters, built for $32,000 in 1924, was profiled in the Dallas Morning News. The Harrison House at 717 was built out of red birch for an English bride. Mr. Harrison visited daily to see construction of “the most solidly built house in Waxahachie.”
The tour continued down W. Jefferson, where the group saw a perfect example of an American foursquare, two-story bungalow. On W. Jefferson, the tour passed the back of the Sims Library, the front of which was seen on W. Main. The Library was built in 1905 on land donated by the publisher of the local newspaper. A theater was tucked into the curved rear wall.
Two of the buildings on the tour once sheltered famous American characters. Ty Cobb stayed at the Rogers Hotel, as did many baseball players during spring training in the teens and twenties. Mary Spaulding, who served as the model for the protagonist in Robert Benton’s Places in the Heart, ran a two-story boarding house in the neighborhood.
Ms. Culbertson also suggested that visitors see the Waxahachie City Cemetary and the octagonal Chatauqua Auditorium, built in 1902, while in town.
The tour culminated with a visit to the Webb Gallery.
Catherine Essinger
University of Houston
Webb Art Gallery, the 1987 love child of Bruce and Julie Webb, bursts at the seams with self-taught painting and sculpture, tramp art, fraternal lodge items, sideshow banners (“Two Noses” anyone?), and general strangeness. I loved it, and bought a trio of collages by an as-yet-unidentified architect. There were reports of other purchases and near-purchases. For those who could not attend, the Webb Art Gallery is a kind of cross between Austin’s Yard Dog Folk Art and the incomparable Uncommon Objects. Among the artists represented are Chelo Gonzalez Amezcua, Ike Morgan, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Reverend Johnny Swearingen, and Dan Phillips. It is well worth a return trip.
Craig Bunch
Cold Spring Independent
The Art Libraries Society of North America, Texas-Mexico Chapter’s Annual Business Meeting 2007 was held at the Warwick Melrose Hotel, San Antonio, Texas at 8:30 A.M., October 28, 2007. The meeting was called to order by President Selene Hinojosa.
President Hinojosa called for approval of the 2006 minutes. Jon Evans asked that the minutes specify that the Website referred to in Section Three is the 2005 ARLIS/NA Annual Conference website. Laura Schwartz moved to that the minutes be approved with that addition. Mark Pompelia seconded. The minutes were then unanimously approved.
At President Hinojosa’s request, those present introduced themselves. Craig Bunch (Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD), Kate Clark, Gwen Dixie (Dallas Public Library), Carla Ellard (Texas State University), Catherine Essinger (University of Houston), Jon Evans (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), Selene Hinojosa (Texas State University), Karen Holt (University of Texas at Austin), Edward Lukasek (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), Katie Pierce (University of Texas at Austin), Mark Pompelia (Rice University), Elizabeth Schaub (University of Texas at Austin), Laura Schwartz (University of Texas at Austin), Chia-Chun Shih (Kimbell Art Museum), and Karen Sigler (Texas State University) were in attendance.
President Hinojosa thanked the chapter officers for their support, as well as Gwen Dixie and Margaret Culbertson for arranging activities in Dallas and Waxahachie. She asked Vice President Pompelia to summarize details the chapter gathering at the ARLIS/NA Annual Conference in Atlanta. He reported that attendees elected to keep the Annual Chapter Meeting in Dallas, but not arrange activities in Fort Worth, as originally planned.
President Hinojosa reported that she applied to the Society for special project funding to aid chapter members’ anticipated travel to the Guadalajara Book Fair in 2008. The funding was not awarded, as these grants cannot fund travel expenses. She asked members to consider what projects might be funded by Society grants in the coming year and contact her with possible endeavors.
She also reported that she updated the Chapter’s mission statement and asked for discussion later in the meeting. She asked that any feedback regarding the mission statement be directed to her or Secretary Essinger.
She concluded that the 2007 Chapter Meeting had been a great success and she enjoyed the activities arranged by Margaret Culbertson and Gwen Dixie.
Secretary Essinger thanked members for the approval of the 2006 minutes. She reported that Treasurer Bunch was updating the membership role following the meeting, which she would maintain and submit to the chapter.
Treasurer Bunch reported that the Chapter’s current financial balance was in flux, as meeting expenses were still being paid. The bank balance was $1843.46, as the meeting commenced. Members discussed appropriate funding for the Lois Swan Jones Award. Laura Schwartz moved that one $500 award be given during the fiscal year. Treasurer Bunch seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Vice President Pompelia, who also serves as the Webmaster and Medium editor, reported that he will post instructions on updating one’s directory information to the chapter listserv. Members also discussed formatting problems related to the website’s cascading style sheets. Although there appeared to be no simple solution, it was suggested that members try a variety of browser clients to alleviate the problem until it can be solved.
Vice President Pompelia thanked the previous year’s content editors. He announced that Secretary Essinger will take over the Architecture Column, as the previous editor has left the chapter.
He led a discussion concerning the online packaging of content, which he feels could be more dynamic. He suggested employing RSS feeds and the creation of dynamic sections.
Laura Schwartz updated members on the migration of data to the new Medium. She suggested that the Chapter not focus on migrating existing electronic issues to a new content management system, but concentrate on moving older, paper issues online. Vice President Pompelia proposed the creation of a subcommittee to examine these issues. Laura Schwartz seconded. Members resolved the creation of a Web Issues Subcommittee. Vice President Pompelia and Laura Schwartz volunteered to serve.
Representative Schaub reported on several changes to the Society governance. At mid-year, the Society approved a proposal that Round Tables be abandoned in favor of a more flexible system of internal governance. Regional representation will not be based on geography, but on functional needs. Representative Schaub will continue to act as a liaison to chapters, but is now also assigned to a group focused on education. Cate Cooney will serve as the chapter coordinator. These changes will affect Society bylaws, which will require chapter votes for approval.
She also reported that Society dues shall be raised for the first time in ten years and a taskforce to revise the nomination process has been appointed.
Vice President Pompelia reported on behalf of Chair Beth Dodd, who was unable to attend the meeting. A $500 award was given to Beverly Mitchell, Fine Arts Librarian, Jake and Nancy Hamon Arts Library, Southern Methodist University, as well as Kathryn Pierce, Graduate Student, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin. Both recipients reported on their conference activities in the Summer 2007 issue of The Medium. Committee members offered the following recommendations:
• Add links to the membership pages for both ARLIS/NA and the Texas-Mexico Chapter in the Eligibility section on the Lois Swan Jones Website. This will both clarify requirements and enable membership in both groups.
• Solicit awardees to volunteer for service on the Lois Swan Jones Award Committee if they continue membership with the ARLIS/Texas-Mexico Chapter.
• Add the guidelines, planning calendar, and ranking tool to the Web administrative page.
Kathryn Pierce volunteered to serve on the 2007-2008 committee, after President Hinojosa issued a call. Vice President Pompelia moved that the Committee Chair issue a public call for volunteers over the website. Secretary Essinger seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
After President Hinojosa explained the terms of appointment, Past President and South Regional Representative Schaub nominated Carla Ellard, Wittliff Gallery, Texas State University to serve as the Vice President/President-Elect in 2008. After a call yielded no additional nominations, Representative Schaub moved that Carla Ellard be elected. President Hinojosa called for a vote and Ms. Ellard was unanimously elected.
Vice President Pompelia explained that the chapter used an independent third party broker, Helms Briscoe, to make hotel arrangements. As attendance was low in 2007, the chapter now owes Helms Briscoe for lost revenue. Vice President Pompelia was able to arrange a compromise with the broker and the hotel. The hotel will forgive the lost revenue for fifteen rooms at the Chapter meeting, but will recoup its losses in Spring 2008 when those rooms are booked by members attending the College Art Association meeting. In the event that members do not book all fifteen rooms, any rooms taken will reduce the penalty owed. The Chapter will pay the difference. Members debated the wisdom of using a third party broker for future meetings and agreed they are unlikely to do so in the near future.
Treasurer Bunch reported that the Chapter possesses sufficient funds to donate $300 to the 2008 Welcome Party. Jon Evans explained the importance of providing this funding. Laura Schwartz moved that the Chapter donate $300. Gwen Dixie seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
President Hinojosa recommended that the 2008 Chapter Meeting be held in conjunction with the Guadalajara International Book Fair. The international travel costs may be mitigated by American Library Association grants to ALA members who may purchase library materials. President Hinojosa proposed that she begin the planning process in November 2007, when she attends the 2007 International Book Fair. Members discussed logistics and outreach opportunities with librarians in Mexico.
Secretary Essinger motioned that the 2008 ARLIS/Texas-Mexico Chapter Meeting be held in Guadalajara during the International Book Fair. Jon Evans seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
President Hinojosa presented an updated mission statement. Changes were made to align the mission with that of strategic plan of ARLIS/NA. She asked members to consider the updated statement and provide her with feedback after the meeting. See Appendix A for the proposed mission statement.
Vice President Pompelia reported that the VRA Chapter meeting, held on October 27, 2007, was productive. Approximately fifteen members attended.
Representative Schaub reported that a recent risk assessment implemented by the Society headquarters deemed the Texas-Mexico Chapter to be of low risk. Cate Cooney, the Chapter Coordinator, is creating an FAQ regarding chapter insurance, which is forthcoming.
Representative Schaub reported on interactions with the Comptroller of Public Accounts. She reported that she and Treasurer Bunch had worked to resolve confusion over the Chapter’s name change and tax-exempt status. She recommended that the Chapter Treasurer submit address information to the State of Texas as it changes.
Vice President Pompelia reported that the Judd Project had not progressed since the 2006 meeting. He, Beth Dodd, Jon Evans, and Representative Schaub will craft a final letter to the new director. If there is no response, the project will cease.
Representative Schaub asked that members interested in serving on a Technology Taskforce contact her.
Jon Evans suggested that Chapter members sponsor an event during the College Art Association. Gwen Dixie volunteered to organize an arts-related event for the Chapter. Chia-Chun Shih agreed to organize a field trip to the Kimbell Museum, as well.
Vice President Pompelia and Representative Schaub announced they will begin the nomination process early this year.
With no further business, President Hinojosa moved that the meeting be adjourned. Carla Ellard seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Proposed Mission Statement and Strategic Plan
Mission Statement
ARLIS/Texas-Mexico
To advance the cause of art librarianship.
Vision
We will promote the development, good management, and enlightened use of all art libraries and visual resources collections throughout the world, and in particular, Texas and Mexico.
Goal I: To increase the effectiveness and support the professional development and expertise of art librarians and visual resources professionals
Objective A. Assist in the continuing professional education of our members and the general knowledge of the public by sponsoring conferences, seminars, lectures, workshops, and other exchanges of information and materials concerning all aspects of art librarianship and visual resources curatorship.
Objective B. Endeavor to stimulate greater use of art libraries and visual resources collections by sponsoring, supporting or publishing resources directories, bibliographies, inventories, periodicals, occasional papers, reports and related materials concerning the organization and retrieval of art information.
Objective C. Foster excellence in art librarianship and the visual arts by establishing standards for art libraries and visual resources collections.
Objective D. Promote improvements in the academic education of art librarians and visual resources curators by sponsoring awards for outstanding achievement.
Goal II: To foster cooperation and share professional development information with librarians internationally, specifically with art librarians in Mexico.
Objective A. Assist in the continuing professional education of our members by participating in, or sponsoring conferences, seminars, lectures, workshops, and other exchanges of information and materials concerning all aspects of art librarianship and visual resources curatorship, with art librarians and visual resources curators in Mexico.
Objective B. Coordinate with American Library Association (ALA) and the Feria Internacional de Libros (FIL) to have the 2008 ARLIS/NA, Texas-Mexico chapter annual conference in conjunction with Guadalajara Mexico.
Objective C. Disseminate as much information as possible to all ARLIS/NA, Texas-Mexico chapter members to encourage them to start planning for Guadalajara in 2008, including participating on their own (as ALA members) in the 2007 Gualalajara Book Fair.
Note: The existing mission statement is on the Chapter Website.
This year, thanks to the efforts of Gwen Dixie, the ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico chapter hosted a panel discussion titled Collecting Early Texas Art. Gwen managed to get four of the most preeminent names in early Texas art collecting to talk to us about their areas of interest and expertise. Personally I do not know anyone who could refuse Gwen (myself included), but I also suspect that each of the panelists were there because they know her and love and respect her as much as we do.
Before the panel discussion, Michael Duty showed us between twenty and thirty small, exquisite Texas landscapes by Frank Reaugh, which the Dallas Historical Society owns but have never been exhibited. I believe he said they were in the process of compiling a book about them.
The discussion was presented at the Hall of State Fair Park auditorium by Michael Duty, Director of Dallas Historical Society and former Director of Wichita Falls Museum David Dike of David Dike Fine Art gallery owner/dealer of Texas Art, George Palmer, an originator of TACO, the Texas Art Collectors Organization (allied with CASETA, the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art, which is on the Texas State University campus in San Marcos; TACO now has groups in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and El Paso), and Kevin Vogel, son of well known Texas painter Donald Stanley Vogel, and director of Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden. The panelists and other art historians define early Texas art as on a moving scale, starting from the time of “colonization” (1820) to forty years prior to the present year.
As a point of interest to us librarians, Laura Schwartz (who reviewed early Texas art resources for ARLIS/NA’s Art Documentation in 2004) asked the panelists if there were any other publications to updated or expanded information about early Texas art and artists. They mentioned Fisk's History of Texas Artists and Sculptors (Abilene, Texas: The Author, 1928) and Art and Artists of Texas by Esse Forrester-O'Brien (Dallas, Texas: Tardy, 1935). They agreed that the more recent Grauer’s Dictionary of Texas Artists, 1800-1940 (College Station: A&M University Press, 1998) and Powers’ book, Texas Painters,Sculptors and Graphic Artists: A Biographical Dictionary of Artists in Texas before 1942 (Austin,Texas: Woodmont Books, 2000) was basically all there was of that genre (biographical dictionaries), and agreed that there was a need to expand and update the resources currently available.
During the panel discussion, someone asked where the best collections of Texas (not necessarily early) art were located. They mentioned the Witte Art Museum in San Antonio, the Barrett Collection in Dallas (DMA) SMUs Meadows Museum, and even the “Wittliff Collection” at Texas State University.
The Texas State contingent (there were four of us) were present, and let the panelists know we were representing TX State that day. As it happened, as appreciation and on behalf of the ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico chapter, each panelist was presented with signed, first edition copies of Bill Wittliff’s A Book of Photographs from Lonesome Dove (Austin, Texas: UT Press, 2007). We had planned to present them all along, and not just because they mentioned the collection!
Selene Hinojosa
Texas State University-San Marcos
Members of the ARLIS TX/MX chapter attended a tour of the Hamon Arts Library at Southern Methodist University given by Beverly Mitchell, the library’s Fine Arts and Dance Librarian. The tour began with an introduction to Hamon’s Special Collections where Dr. Sam Ratcliffe, Head of Special Collections, displayed some examples of the artwork and documents for the then upcoming Meadows Museum exhibition, Jerry Bywaters: Interpreter of the Southwest & Lone Star Printmaker,. Bywaters was a professor of art at SMU and director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, now the Dallas Museum of Art. Several of his works and archives, which Bywaters bequeathed to Hamon, comprise the nucleus of this exhibition. This exhibition runs from November 30th, 2007-March 2nd, 2008. Dr. Ratcliffe also took chapter members into the vault where he showed and discussed other special holdings of the library, including model drawings by Bywaters for post office murals in west Texas and the archives of Greer Garson.
Beverly Mitchell then took members through the library to show its services and circulating collection, which supports the curriculum of the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. Subject areas in the collection are art, art and architectural history, music, film, theatre, dance, arts administration, and communications. The print holdings for Hamon are approximately 152,000 volumes. Print holdings for art are approximately 58,000 and current art and architecture journals are at 94. The building has four floors, the basement of which is dedicated to audio/visual services and computers. In this area, students and faculty may check out CDs, DVDs, and iPods with class playlists, or they may compose music, edit digital video, or use other software for their coursework. The upper three floors house periodicals, reference materials, and the stacks.
At the end of the tour, members had the opportunity to view an exhibition, Printing in Color, in the library’s Mildred Hawn Exhibition Gallery. This exhibition was curated by Dr. Lisa Pon, Assistant Professor of Art History, with the assistance of Dr. Sam Ratcliffe and Ellen Buie-Niewyk, Curator of the Bywaters Collection. The prints for this exhibition were selected in conjunction with assignments for a Meadows art history class, History and Theory of Prints.
Beverly Mitchell
Southern Methodist University
Pamela Nelson, local artist and teacher graciously allowed us to tour her downtown loft home and studio on Saturday morning. Pam (as the whole world calls her) is also a member of the U. S. Commission of Fine Arts, and began the very successful homeless art classes in a downtown church. Since many of us were late, she and member Beverly Mitchell, were standing outside to usher us into an old office building near the central Dallas Public Library that she has turned into three large condominiums. Two are for rent and she and her husband use the top floor for themselves.
Pam Nelson is first of all an artist and her loft is also her studio. She discussed her varied career and influences extending back to childhood. Raised in Midland, she spent summers in Bay City, Texas, where her grandmother ran a thrift shop and often made crafty items from materials that came through her shop. She often gave these items as gifts to the needy. Pam credits her grandmother for being the inspiration of her life and art. She has often incorporated her grandmother’s collections and handwork into her paintings and sculptures. Her artworks might make use of buttons from her grandmother’s collections, or hand-wrought tin roses made by her grandmother fifty years ago from can tops. Some of her designs are reminiscent of quilt patterns.
In a long career Pam Nelson has worked in many media. She designed three of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit stations. Recently she designed a new terminal at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in colored terrazzo made to look like a large Parcheesi game. In 2004 she designed and worked new stained glass windows for a Dallas church. She has done murals for many walls including ones for the Dallas Humane Society and the Children’s Collection of the downtown Dallas Public Library. She has sculpted in wood. She has even designed an extra large crown with excessively big reflector lights as jewels and cotton boles decorating the crenulations to represent Mississippi County, home of the national cotton-picking contest, in the Arkansas sesquicentennial parade.
A lifelong collector of kitsch-type objects, Pam has incorporated them into her art and her home. She has had collections of everything from artificial food, old jewelry, marbles, trophies, and game pieces to Pope memorabilia. She once used a lot of these items to install her “La Pausita” in a Dallas gallery. Locals recognized it as a takeoff on the Dallas Museum of Art’s “La Casa Pausa” wing (Q.V.). La Casa Pausa was a villa in the south of France built for Coco Chanel and later owned by born-in-Texas, Wendy Reves (Q.V.), and her husband Emery (Q.V.). Wendy Reves gave the museum a large bequest of Impressionist paintings, rare artifacts and furniture to recreate six rooms exactly as they were at La Casa Pausa. Stipulations in the bequest say that nothing may be moved or changed, which could make for staleness. But Pam’s La Pausita could be sat upon and circled around.
Pam worked for a crayola company for several years and said she learned “so much” about color. She and Robert Wilson (husband of photographer, Laura, and father of actors, Owen and Luke) wrote a small and easily understandable book on color. Pam was giving away free copies the day we visited. I could just imagine anyone from child to unsophisticated adult learning a lot from this simple book.
As a church member Pam visited Honduras and helped in setting up a woman’s co-op for local embroiderers. She designed, very loosely, decorative pillow covers that local Honduran women embroider and are free to redesign with needle and thread as they work. On the day of our visit the pillow covers had not yet been offered for sale and were all at her home. Several in the group bought them. Though each cover was different, the designs were unmistakably influenced by Pamela Nelson. The circles and wide paths full of linear embroidery are very reminiscent of her paintings. She said the pillowcases were how the Honduran rivers looked from above in the airplane.
Of course, it is as an artist that Pam is most known. Her work is represented by Gerald Peters Gallery of Dallas and New York. She has had exhibited in all large Texas cities and at several museums. Her paintings are often acrylics with appliqués and may contain buttons, tiny mirrors, metal eye hooks, or sewing thread done to decorate and hold pieces of canvas together. The designs seem feminine with flowers, running lines and patterns sometimes like quilts. And she is a master of color.
Pamela Nelson began art classes for the homeless of downtown Dallas when she moved into her loft fifteen years ago. She had formerly taught at the Dallas Museum of Art. She said that she didn’t want to live in a neighborhood and not know the neighbors. So the First Presbyterian Church across the street which provides many services to the homeless furnished the room and the materials to begin an art class. The Wednesday, and now added Friday classes, are one of the most innovative and successful programs in the city for the homeless population. Anyone may attend as long as conduct standards are maintained. As well as the healing power of creating art, the class participants receive a much-needed shot of self-esteem. At least two of its students have begun to support themselves with art. Dallas Public Library has given the class exhibit every December for twelve years. Called “Food for the Soul” this eagerly awaited show is visited by collectors, church members, and most particularly the proud students. Though Pam still teaches when in Dallas, the program has become self-sustaining enough to be handed off to others.
Pam Nelson also serves as one of seven members on the United States Commission of Fine Arts. Until recently, she was its only member west of the Mississippi, and is still the only practicing artist, and the only one with any experience such as teaching art to a homeless population. Most members are heads of major museums, architects, etc. Appointed by the President, this commission advises on art matters of the government and the District of Columbia. She spoke briefly about her service and what problems the Commission might encounter. The commission has recently considered such matters as the redesign of a United States coin and the advisability of adding an underground museum to the Vietnam Memorial.
The loft itself was an interesting dwelling containing an artist’s studio and all its projects. It was a pleasure to see Pam’s works as well as pieces by artist friends. The home had interesting but well used furnishings and collections, and an outstanding view of the large white Corinthian columns of the First Presbyterian Church across the street. Pam Nelson is a first rate artist, but also a citizen of the world. Her down-to-earth personality put all at ease and ARLIS members were grateful for her graciousness in opening her home and studio for this tour.
Gwen Dixie
Dallas Public Library
The Association of Architecture School Librarians (AASL) will meet in Houston, March 27-29, 2008. The annual conference will be held in conjunction with that of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, which is sponsored by the University of Houston. The AASL conference will include walking tours of downtown Houston and the Menil Collection facilities, as well as visits to the collections and facilities at the University of Houston, Rice University, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. An information literacy workshop will be offered, as well as presentations on Houston architecture, instructional technology, and scholarly communication. There will also be opportunities to network with publishers and other architecture librarians. Attendees will see both world class and vernacular architecture during conference activities.
Catherine Essinger
University of Houston
The Visual Resources Association's Texas Chapter met on October 29, 2007 in Dallas, at the Hamon Arts Library, Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University.
Although held at the same time as the Annual Meeting of the 2007 ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico Chapter, it was not possible to schedule a joint meeting. However, since the most important purpose of the VRA Texas meeting was to decide whether or not the chapter would continue as a formal entity, it was decided just to focus on a business meeting this time and plan for future joint educational programs with the ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico chapter.
The meeting was hosted by Eileen Coffman, Director of the Visual Resources Library, Southern Methodist University, who did a wonderful job making everyone welcome. During the morning hours we met in her facility. She gave a demonstration of Embark Cataloger and Web Kiosk software with Archivision images installed. We had a chance to talk to each other and swap questions (and complaints) about equipment and other concerns. After a relaxing, communal lunch we reconvened for our business meeting. We addressed the requirements the board of the VRA had stipulated for our regional chapter in order to avoid dissolution.
New chapter bylaws, revised by Mark Pompelia, and two new officers were approved. Mark Pompelia, Rice University, will serve as the chapter’s Chair for 2008. Ray Sikes from UT Tyler is the Incoming Chair for 2009. Katherine Hooker, Southwestern University agreed to serve as secretary/treasurer for two years (2008-2009), under the mentorship of Elizabeth Schaub, University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture. We came to an agreement on annual membership dues and how to collect them. Since there is high concentration of VR professionals in the Dallas area, it was also decided to meet again (a 2nd meeting of the chapter is mandatory) in February in Dallas, at the time of the CAA meeting, when a CCO training workshop will be offered.
Everybody who attended the VRA Texas chapter meeting was glad that we had met and that actions had been taken to continue to work together as an official local chapter.
Sigrid Knudsen
University of Texas at Austin
Visual Resources Collection
School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station, B7500
Austin TX, 78712-0222
Phone: 512.471.0143
Web site
Physical Location:
Sutton Hall, Room 3.128
The Visual Resources Collection (VRC) is a unit within the School of Architecture (SOA). The VRC’s primary function is to provide a sustainable and searchable collection of visual images to support current classroom teaching with an emphasis on the SOA’s curriculum as well as reflecting the specializations of the VRC’s patrons. The image collection is comprised of over 240,000 35mm slides, a burgeoning collection of digital images currently numbering over 60,000, video tapes, CDROMs and DVDs. In addition to visual material, the VRC maintains and circulates 35mm slide projectors and slide carousels.
The VRC administers the SOA’s Photo Union in order to encourage documentation of student work and investigation into the photographic medium as it relates to the SOA curriculum. The Photo Union is a student organization; membership is open to any currently enrolled SOA student. Members have access to a fully equipped black and white darkroom and may borrow Photo Union 35mm camera equipment from the VRC.
The VRC curates two exhibits a year, one highlighting recent image acquisitions and the other focusing on student photographic work produced by Photo Union members. The exhibits may be viewed during the VRC’s normal business hours. Past exhibits are archived and may be viewed on the VRC’s Web site.
The VRC began as a special Resources Center for the SOA faculty and students with a small collection of slides taken care of by graduate assistants. In the mid-1960s a core group of architectural historians, including Professor Emeritus D. Blake Alexander, met with Molly Chesney, curator of the Architectural Drawings Collection—now the Alexander Architectural Archive—beginning in 1998. They decided that 7,000 glass lantern slides housed in the archive would be made available to the SOA faculty as a teaching collection. The Slide Collection grew to include 35mm slides through faculty donations and in-house copy work.
In 1973, a full time Slide Librarian position was established, held by Susan Hoover from 1973-1980, to maintain and promote the collection of 20,000 slides. By 1977, the Slide Collection had grown to include 60,000 slides and other collections of reference and technical materials were acquired. At this point, the Slide Librarian position was changed to a Social Science/Humanities Research Associate III. From 1977-1984, the resources and activities of the Center increased dramatically. The Slide Collection grew to 100,000 slides, all audio-visual equipment for the SOA was acquired and circulated through the Resources Center, staff was added to handle additional services and special projects were assigned to the Resources Center (such as responsibility for exhibitions and special research) all while the number of users increased. In addition, photographic services were planned, scheduled, executed and supervised through the Center.
The Resources Center eventually came to be known as the Audio Visual Resources Collection and was managed by Pamela Leighton-Burwell from 1980-1994 and by James O’Donnell from 1994-1998. Elizabeth Schaub was hired in 1997 and currently directs the facility’s activities; the position was reclassified to a Professional Librarian position in 2000. In fall 2004, the facility was renamed the Visual Resources Collection (VRC). The name change reflects a shift in focus emphasizing the image collection since most of the equipment inventory formally maintained and circulated by the VRC was transferred to the SOA’s Computer Lab.
The VRC has one FTE professional librarian (director) with plans to hire another FTE staff member who will be the metadata librarian. Both undergraduate and graduate employees comprise an additional 2.9 FTE positions.
The VRC has recently adopted VireoCat as its local cataloging utility enabling VRA Core 4.0 compliant XML file import into the campus’s Digital Archive Services, also known as DASe. DASe, developed by the Liberal Arts ITS, enables the entire campus community to browse across contributed collections. VRC legacy hybrid records, that are an aggregate of work and image metadata, will reside in DASe as flat records. New records created in VireoCat will be flattened for display in DASe but the associated XML file created in VireoCat will allow for the expression of hierarchical relationships between and among data via a DASe module.
The collection grows through donations from faculty and students, copy work, and licensing images from vendors.
The campus licenses ARTstor.
Submitted by:
Elizabeth Schaub, Director
Visual Resources Collection
It was wonderful to see everyone at the recent chapter meeting in Dallas, October 25-28, 2007. Thanks to the organizational efforts of Gwen Dixie and Mark Pompelia, the meeting was a great mix of educational and culturally stimulating activities. We were also afforded time to address chapter business and reconnect with colleagues from around the state. I personally found the exhaustive tour of Fair Park exhilarating and look forward to visiting again during the State Fair of Texas in 2008 with a much deeper understanding of the history and evolution of the fairgrounds and the buildings comprising the complex. The Greek dinner hosted by Gwen was another highlight for me. Gwen’s hospitality, along with her colorful home, created the perfect environment to enjoy each other’s company. President Selene Hinojosa and Secretary Catherine Essinger ran the chapter’s business meeting with great efficiency and aplomb. Congratulations go to Vice President/President Elect Carla Ellard and a warm thanks to Craig Bunch who will be continuing as the chapter’s treasurer in 2008.
At the chapter’s meeting in Dallas, I mentioned several issues that will be up for a membership vote. They include Bylaws changes to reflect 1) the Society’s administrative restructuring, specifically the dissolution of Round Tables and the creation of Special Interest Groups, and the change from Regional Representatives to Functional Laisions, 2) a revised nominations process, 3) the addition of an introductory membership category, and 4) acceptance of votes cast electronically. The ballot is due to be mailed to the membership no later than mid-January 2008.
In the wake of chapters signing the ARLIS/NA Affiliation Agreement in 2006, chapter liability insurance is a topic of ongoing interest that was touched on during our most recent meeting in Dallas. Cate Cooney, who is the ARLIS/NA Northeast Regional Representative and also taking on the functional role of Chapters Coordinator during ARLIS/NA’s administrative ‘year-of-transition,’ has surveyed chapters about their respective approaches towards liability insurance. Cate sent a message to the chapter leaders in mid-November summarizing the results of her informal survey. Of the eleven chapters that responded, seven have decided not to get Director & Officer insurance for chapter heads. All seven of these chapters cited the high cost as the deciding factor. The other four chapters have not made a decision. Two chapters mentioned that they are investigating the issue.
As has been stated before, ARLIS/NA Headquarters investigated an umbrella insurance policy that chapters could benefit from. However, this type of insurance would run between $2500-$3000 per chapter, per year which is prohibitive and therefore will not be an option through ARLIS/NA. Each chapter, on a continuing basis, should focus on risk assessment weighing the pros and cons of pursuing insurance. ARLIS/NA Executive Director Elizabeth Clarke has stated that she will be available to field questions from chapters related to this topic.
MemberClicks implementation is still very much on the minds of the Executive Board. In making headway towards devising a solution to address this issue, a revised timeline projects a site launch in January 2008.
I look forward to seeing you at the Society’s annual conference in Denver, Colorado, May 1-5, 2008. Please take a moment to peruse the conference Web site
Respectfully submitted by:
Elizabeth Schaub
ARLIS/NA South Regional Representative and Education Liaison
The Texas Conference on Digital Libraries was held on The University of Texas at Austin campus, May 30-31, 2007. This conference, hosted by the Texas Digital Library (TDL), provided a forum for a broad cross section of administrators, curators, developers, librarians, and other interested parties to hear about the digital revolution in general terms, how TDL is developing solutions to digital content creation, delivery, preservation, and storage, and how others throughout the state are addressing local needs to package, promote, and deliver digital content. Presentations from the conference can be accessed from the TDL Web site.
TDL will host the 2nd Annual Texas Conference on Digital Libraries June 4-6, 2008, on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Those interested in attending should check the TDL Web site for information as the date of the conference nears.
Mark Pompelia (pompelia@rice.edu)
Academic Libraries
Laura Schwartz (lschwartz@austin.utexas.edu)
Architecture Libraries
Cathering Essinger (Catherine.Essinger@mail.uh.edu)
Museum Libraries
Jon Evans (jevans@mfah.org)
Public Libraries
Gwen Dixie (gdixie@dallaslibrary.org)
Visual Resources
Mark Pompelia (pompelia@rice.edu)
Deadline for Spring 2008 Issue (v. 34, no. 1): April 25, 2007
Welcome to the second issue of volume 33 of The Medium. This issue is overflowing with news from chapter members and their institutions, some of it bittersweet as we note the departure of two respected colleagues (though you will also notice in this issue a news item from a former Texas-based member now outside our geographic fold). Be sure to read the report from ARLIS/NA South Regional Representative Elizabeth Schaub, as well as the reports from the two recipients of the 2007 Lois Swan Jones Award. But first, let us commence with "The Scream"...
Laura Schwartz, head librarian of the Fine Arts Library, leads the College of Fine Arts freshmen in a cheer for Gone to Texas orientation.
According to American Libraries Direct, "Not only were the students provided with an introduction to key administrators, but they were also able to eat pizza, sing karaoke, and scream in the library as orchestrated by Fine Arts Librarian Laura Schwartz, who recorded the event for posterity in this YouTube video."
International library leaders gathered and focused on leadership at academic institutions.
The two discussion themes of the week were 1. How well-positioned is my organization to meet current and future challenges?, and 2. How effective is my own leadership?
This was an amazing opportunity to learn about higher education from Harvard faculty. It was also a terrific networking opportunity. If you have questions about the program, please get in touch with Laura.
The William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library welcomed a new full-time employee this summer. Jackie Rocha now serves as the Evening Supervisor and Reserves Manager. Ms. Rocha is a former UH employee who recently received a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication from Texas State University.
The other full-time staff members both received campus service awards at the end of the Spring semester. Yolanda Rodriguez was named Employee of the Year for the entire UH Libraries system. Catherine Essinger received the Staff Service Award for the College of Architecture. Catherine Essinger also attended the Texas Library Association’s TALL Texans Leadership Institute last May and was recently appointed to TLA’s Leadership Development Committee.
The Jenkins Library’s Web site, catalog, and printing system were redesigned in August. The library system has installed print management software to help alleviate excessive paper waste. Printing will no longer be free to all library users. Patrons not affiliated with UH will now pay eleven cents per printed page. The website and catalog may undergo slight revision based on user feedback. To view their current incarnations, visit http://info.lib.uh.edu/aa/index.html and http://library.uh.edu.
Former ARLIS/Texas-Mexico Chapter Member and Officer Polly McCord announces that she recently accepted a position as a Librarian at the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer. She submitted the following library profile:
The OSE Library collects materials related to the history, science, law, use and management of water resources in New Mexico and the surrounding region. For the architecture librarians, we are in the basement of the Bataan Memorial Building, which was the State Capitol from 1900-1966. Look at http://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/bsd/buildings/bataan.html. The building is in downtown Santa Fe across the street from the Roundhouse (the current capitol) and about 4 blocks south of the Plaza. Because it was the State Capitol, the basement has a number of vaults where Finance used to keep the money, so I have a real turn-of-the-last-century bank vault for my archives.
The collection includes a variety of maps, USGS and other Federal publications, reports and other documents issued by the New Mexico State Engineer going back to Territorial times, consultant reports, hydrographic surveys, technical reports and master's theses from New Mexico Tech, University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University students, landmark legal opinions and some related materials, and, I'm sure, lots I've yet to uncover. I'm the first professional librarian they've ever had and they hadn't had anyone in the library on a full-time basis in over a year before a started. I estimate that about 40% of the collection is cataloged in some way: some LC, some Dewey, some SUDOC, and some in that arcane static system I'd only heard about before where a title is assigned a specific location on a shelf. The rest? No cataloging whatsoever. My predecessor had contract catalogers coming in but for some reason he didn't want them to actually label the items so even if it was cataloged, the item isn't connected to the number. We are part of a State agency consortium called SALSA and the items that have been cataloged in Dewey are available through an online catalog at http://salsa.stlib.state.nm.us/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=ose&menu=search#focus.
Whenever my old ARLIS/NA friends are in Santa Fe, I encourage you to stop by to say hello!
Polly
-------------------------------------------------
Polly McCord, MLS
Librarian
New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
407 Galisteo Street
Bataan Memorial Building, Room BE02
PO Box 25102
Santa Fe, NM 87504
505/827-6158 (voice)
505/827-6682 (fax)
http://www.ose.state.nm.us/publications_library.html
News from AASL
ARLIS/Texas-Mexico Chapter members Margaret Culbertson, Catherine Essinger, Janine Henri, Mark Pompelia, and Jet Prendeville are serving on the AASL Conference Planning Committee. They are planning the annual conference of the Association of Architecture School Librarians, scheduled for March 27-30, 2008, in Houston, in conjunction with the 96th annual meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. The conference theme is "Seeking the City."
After sixteen years of service, Janine Henri is leaving her position as Head Librarian of the Architecture & Planning Library at the University of Texas at Austin after August 31, 2007. She has accepted a position as Architecture, Design, and Digital Services Librarian in the Arts Library at UCLA, where she will begin employment on September. 17, 2007. Beth Dodd will be the Interim Head of the Architecture & Planning Library, effective September 1, 2007. To assist in the interim, Library Assistant Donna Coates' appointment has been increased from half-time to full-time. ARLIS/Texas-Mexico and her colleagues at UT Austin wish her well and success in her new position.
As a result of this move, this is Janine's last submission as Architecture Libraries News Column Editor. Catherine Essinger, University of Houston, will be taking over this responsibility as of the fall 2007 issue.
After four years of service as the Director of the Amon Carter Musem's Library and Archives, Allen Townsend has left to take a position at Yale University.
Allen began his new job as Director of the Yale University Arts Library on July 16th, 2007.
We wish Allen all the best in his new endeavor!
Jon Evans
Reference Librarian, Hirsch Library
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
This Hirsch Library is currently featuring the books and photographs of Lee Friedlander, who has long been recognized as one of the most talented, prolific and influential photographers of the 20th and 21st centuries. The exhibition will be on view from August 21, 2007 – January 13, 2008.
Friedlander’s exploration of genres ranging from portraiture and documentary to landscape and still life show his abiding interest in capturing the world around us in its many guises, often with great candor and humor. His vision bears witness to every day life in such a way that the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Included are nine books, seven photographs and one print ranging from the beginning of his career to his latest endeavors, emphasizing the continuity as well as the breadth of his oeuvre. For more information, please see: http://www.mfah.org/main.asp?target=exhibition&par1=1&par2=1&par3=512.
Jon Evans
Reference Librarian, Hirsch Library
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Along with several other Texas RLG libraries, the Hirsch Library converted cataloging and interlibrary loan systems from RLIN to OCLC this summer. Training and revising procedures was time-consuming, but should lead to good results. For those members already using OCLC, if you notice the distinctive holdings symbol “FNE,” that is the Hirsch’s new symbol.
Two significant memorial gifts enabled the Hirsch Library to strengthen its collection over the past few months. The family and friends of Joyce Rader donated funds in her memory for the purchase of two substantial works: Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet (2 volumes, Zurich, 2001) and Les Miniatures du XVIIIe Siécle: Portraits de Femmes, (Paris, 1913). Fellow MFAH Guild members and friends of Anne Koehler contributed funds to purchase 22 books in her memory on the art of Pompeii and Roman art and culture to assist docents in preparing for the Pompeii exhibition opening in March of 2008.
The Hirsch Library also has received a number of large book collections as gifts over the past few years, and a new full-time Cataloging Assistant position was recently added to help catalog them. We are happy to report that Lynn Wexler accepted the position, beginning officially on September 1. ARLIS/Texas-Mexico members may already have met or worked with Lynn, for she has been a part-time reference desk assistant at the Hirsch for over two years and also is a student in the University of North Texas School of Library and Information Sciences. It is great to have Lynn with the Hirsch on a full-time basis and to get more of the gift collections cataloged and accessible to library users.
Margaret Culbertson,
Director, Hirsch Library
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth will be featured with articles by the director and curators in the October 2007 issue of Apollo magazine (http://www.apollo-magazine.com/). Other recent issues have featured the collections of The Yale Center for British Art (April 2007), as well as the J. Paul Getty Museum (February 2006).
Patricia Cummings Loud
Curator of Architecture/Archivist
Kimbell Art Museum
The Wittliff Gallery of Southwestern & Mexican Photography at Texas State University-San Marcos presents the 10th publication in its series, A Book of Photographs from Lonesome Dove by Bill Wittliff, bringing the sweeping visual imagery of the CBS miniseries to the printed page at last.
The major archive of these photographs (a total of 215), gifted by Wittliff and his wife Sally, resides in the Gallery’s permanent collection at Texas State’s Alkek Library; 60 of the images will be on view from August 23, 2007 -March 30, 2008. An exhibit reception/book launch is scheduled for October 13.
Published by the University of Texas Press, the large-format, 188-page book features over 100 of the toned black-and-white photographs created by Bill Wittliff—the award-winning screenwriter and co-executive producer of Lonesome Dove—which he selected from his archive of over 5,000 negatives shot on set.
Michele M. Miller
Media Relations & Promotions, Alkek Library Special Collections
Texas State University – San Marcos
This special exhibition entitled, The Making of King of the Hill, comes from the King of the Hill Archives at the Southwestern Writers Collection and is on view from September 1 – December 14, 2007. It features episode drafts, whiteboards, a bird’s-eye illustration of Hank’s neighborhood, “interviews” with the characters, results from the writers’ research trips, and music from and inspired by the show. The materials and memorabilia reveal the creative team at work and round out the back story of the Hill family’s life and times.
A public exhibit reception and program will be held the evening of Saturday, November 10, with special guest Jim Dauterive, founding writer and current executive producer of the show.For additional collection details, visit The Southwestern Writers Collection Web site: http://www.swwc.txstate.edu.
Michele M. Miller
Media Relations & Promotions, Alkek Library Special Collections
Texas State University – San Marcos
Efforts to negotiate Texas purchasing consortiums with digital image vendors have been ongoing over the past few months. With the blessings of 17 visual resources curators in the state, I made contact with the vendors on our behalf. Negotiations with Scholars Resource is ongoing, but I am pleased to report that a discount group has been formed with Archivision, Inc., a major vendor of architectural digital images. This agreement allows all Texas universities, colleges, community colleges, museums, and secondary schools to license the Archivision Digital Photo Research Library (currently over 29,000 images) at a huge discount over individual purchases through Scholars Resource. Schools will automatically receive the discount when ordering the entire archive from Archivision. The Texas Discount Buying Group is the first state discount group for Archivision and will become their model for other states and provinces.
The group discount allows all Texas institutions to pay the same low, per student fee for the images in the base collection of 16,000 images with even greater discounts for additional modules offered by Archivision. Images come in JPEG format, with TIFF images available at an additional charge. Institutions can specific the format for the data they receive. Total cost for the archive depends upon the number of students enrolled at the institution. Southern Methodist University and Rice University have already licensed the archive using the discount group pricing, saving thousands of dollars for both institutions. Schools interested in more details should contact Susan Jane Williams at Archivision, 866-712-4627 or susan@archivision.com.
Eileen W. Coffman, Director
Lady Tennyson d'Eyncourt Visual Resources Library
Southern Methodist University
The Visual Resource Collection is located within the Technical Reference Center, the architectural reference library supported by the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University. The collection functions principally as a teaching resource for faculty within the college, but also serves faculty outside of the college and grants limited access to students. The collection consists of almost 152,000 35 mm slides and over 36,000 digital images of primarily art and architecture.
The Visual Resource Collection houses several special collections including the Gunn Collection. Ralph Ellis Gunn was a prominent landscape architect who designed extensively in the River Oaks area of Houston in the 1950’s, 60’s and early 70’s. The Gunn Collection includes sets of landscaping plans for residences in Houston, other areas of Texas, Indiana, Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi. The collection consists of several books, sets of plans, and almost 900 slides, all digitally imaged, donated in the late 1970’s and is available for viewing within the library.
In 2000, the College of Architecture purchased the formerly commercial slide collection Architectural Color Slides, founded in 1947 by Franziska Porges Hosken. The Franziska Porges Hosken Architecture/Urban Development Collection of approximately 52,200 slides 35 mm slides and 14,600 photographs was at one time one of the largest collections of worldwide images photographed and documented by a single individual. Franziska Porges Hosken was an architect and urban planner, journalist, and photographer. She was the first woman to earn a master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She opened a furniture design studio with her husband and later became a consultant, organizer and author. She was the Founder of Women’s International Network (WIN) and helped organize the Human Rights Health Action Network. The collection consists primarily of architectural and planning images, including views of prominent buildings, sites and regions across the globe. Worldwide historic architecture and significant contemporary architecture are well represented, as are architectural styles and urban development.
The Collection staff consists of a curator, an assistant curator, and graduate assistants, whom facilitate its growth and maintenance.
In 1992, a database was developed to produce slide labels and catalog cards using Double Helix, a relational database software package developed by Macintosh. It was migrated into a customized Filemaker Pro database in 1992. With the transition from slides to digital images, MDID was implemented in 2003 as the digital image management system. The main library has acquired ARTstor, so the faculty has access on campus. There was a marked decrease in slide use in the 2006-2007, and in 2007-2008, slide use had all but ceased. This prompted the recent purchase of a new computer with flat screen and new digital camera for copystand use.
It is with great pleasure that I am able to begin my tenure as your South Regional Representative during a pivotal point in the Society’s evolution. I realize that I am filling a pair of very large shoes left by my predecessor, Heather Ball. In taking on this position, I am inspired to live up to the high expectations she set. As an ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico chapter officer I had the good fortune to collaborate with Heather on many occasions, and, just as she was, I will be accessible and responsive to any need that the chapter may have during my tenure. I encourage you to e-mail me directly
You may wonder what led me to agree to serve on the ARLIS/NA Board as the South Regional Representative. First, I was very inspired by Heather Ball’s effectiveness and I felt that I too could provide an effective conduit for communication between my colleagues in chapters and the ARLIS/NA Board. I have gained invaluable experience serving as the chapter’s Secretary, Vice-President/President-Elect, President, and currently as the Past President. I believe that an organization is only as strong as the people who make up its membership and with this in mind, I have pursued opportunities to serve in the professional associations that have given me so much throughout my career. It is in this spirit that I take on this important role and look forward to collaborating with you not only in my role as South Regional Representative but also an active member in the chapter during the Society’s year of transition to a new administrative structure.
The Executive Board, in response to the Assessment Task Force Recommendations and the feedback that the recommendations engendered from the membership, has implemented a hybrid Board structure during the coming year. What this means for regional representatives is that we will not only continue to serve the chapters in the way that we have traditionally but also we will take on the functional officer roles outlined in the recommendations. ARLIS/NA President Deborah K. Utlan Boudewyns set out a road map for this transition in her message to the membership posted on ARLIS-L, June 12, 2007. As your South Regional Representative I am committed to representing your interests to the Board as well as serving as the Education Coordinator, one of the five new functional officer positions. As Educational Coordinator I will continue as the Professional Development Committee liaison, co-chair the newly formed Mentor sub-committee under the Professional Development Committee umbrella, act as co-liaison of the Education Task Force with the President, and act as co-liaison of the SEI Implementation Committee with the Vice-President.
During this transitional year the Board continues to welcome your feedback. Again, please do not hesitate to contact me as we begin to reshape the Society’s administrative structure.
Elizabeth Schaub
ARLIS/NA South Regional Representative
ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico Chapter Past President
The ARLIS/NA Distinguished Service Award honors an individual whose exemplary service in art librarianship, visual resources curatorship, or a related field, has made an outstanding national or international contribution to art information. The ARLIS/NA Distinguished Service Award Committee reminds you to review the award guidelines at http://www.arlisna.org/about/awards/dsa/dsa_guidelines.html and to consider submitting a nomination by Wednesday, January 9, 2008.
Submitted by Janine Henri on behalf of the ARLIS/NA Distinguished Service Award Committee
TX/MX Chapter Report
Thank you to chapter members of ARLIS Texas-Mexico for the Lois Swan Jones travel grant award. The opportunity to attend the conference was a rewarding professional experience. Over the course of the two and a half days I attended the ARLIS/NA conference in Atlanta, I went to several sessions and meetings. As a whole, I found it very helpful simply to go to these scheduled events to learn about their purpose and function, and the First-time Attendees Orientation session on Thursday evening helped to orient me and make me feel welcome at the conference. On Sunday, before my departure back to Texas, I attended the Wittenborn committee meeting chaired by the outgoing chair Terrie Wilson. I am looking forward to working with this committee this year, and I feel it an honor to be asked to contribute. In addition, it was my pleasure to meet members of both ARLIS/NA and the TX/MX chapter. Below are the sessions and meetings that I attended.
FRIDAY, APRIL 27TH
• Session 2: Communication and Collaboration: Working with Faculty for Information Fluency – As a reference librarian one of my duties is teaching art and art history students how to find scholarly information or images of art for their research. I was particularly interested in this session, and the presenters gave me some good ideas for possibly making my classes more effective and targeted toward teaching students to look up materials in the library or outside of it. Jennifer Parker’s presentation on creating one-hour credit instruction courses in art was very concrete in her discussion. I am not at the point of developing a credited instruction program, but it gave me the idea of creating tests or pop quizzes to assess student learning. That being said, a credited instruction program is a plan that we want to consider at the Hamon Arts Library. Jennifer also gave us the address for the course outline on her website, which I recommend for anyone who teaches how to search art and art history resources: http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/art/ARTS1010.htm . I anticipate that the feedback from these tests will be immensely helpful. Lucie Stylianopoulos, who was actually a pleasure just to meet and chat with, gave a presentation that encouraged me to make better use of some of my architecture resources in my teaching. Claudia Covert outlined several core competencies to serve as a guide through the teaching process. She also emphasized pre- and post-testing for instruction sessions.
• Session 4: Art Libraries: New and Improved – My interest in this session was space planning issues. Linda R. McKee, Head Librarian at the John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art Library, and Artis Wick, the Assistant Librarian discussed and showed their new library and its facilities. They discussed planning for space ahead of time and the importance of insisting on what needs and future needs your library has for space and use. They also discussed their very helpful system of counting and marking off linear feet for the move. Laura Schwartz showed images of the UT Austin’s Fine Arts Library renovation, which included getting more space for materials and improved facilities for students. To discover their needs, they collected extensive observational and use data. Among one of several impressive changes was how, by removing high partitions, they created a feeling of open and more expansive space in the library. Carol Terry, Director of Library Services, RISD, gave a wonderful presentation of RISD’s unique opportunity to house the Fleet Library collection in a 1917 bank building across the river from the school. The new space not only provide much needed room for the collection and expanded study areas, but it also gave staff the ability to create a new community environment extending beyond the students’ needs to the community of Providence, Rhode Island. The Fleet Library website provides a nicely detailed pdf on their new building, and it is worth reading for any new and creative ideas on library space planning: http://www.risd.edu/pdf/fleetlibraryrisd.pdf .
• Reference and Information Services Section Meeting – this section was the most relevant to my position, and it is definitely a section that I would like to keep up with on their activities.
• Volunteered at the services desk – I enjoyed this activity. It helped me with a few questions of my own, and it gave me the chance to meet other librarians. Natalia Lonchyna, who helped manage the volunteers, was gracious and quite helpful.
SATURDAY, APRIL 28TH
• ARTstor Users Group meeting – I found this Users Group very worthwhile. I regularly teach students and faculty how to search and use the tools in ARTstor. There were a few announcements that I had not read or heard about. I’m glad to know that ARTstor is migrating to a new platform, Ajax, and that images for scholarly publication from a limited number of collections will be available to users. Max Marmor, who has been so instrumental in developing the image collections in ARTstor, will now serve as the President of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
• Session 8: Going Outside, Coming in from the Cold: Outsourcing, Moonlighting, and Consulting – What I found most useful from this session was Carol K. Rusk’s talk, “Liberating the Library: Creative Solutions to Shrinking Budgets and Human Resources.” Grant writing for large library or archival projects and managing volunteers or part-time staff are central concerns for all libraries managing their resources with a limited budget.
• Took advantage of visiting the High Museum. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to the see The Gates of Paradise exhibition and become more familiar with the Museum’s collection.
• Academic Division Meeting – Since this is a new division, there was a lot of discussion about its purpose and what direction it should or might take over the next year. I learned that there is the desire for academic art librarians to have a presence in ARLIS as a division distinct from museum librarians. On the part of some attendees, there seemed to be the need for programs that address the services unique to those provided by academic art librarians. Attendees were encouraged to come up with topics relevant to this division for next year’s conference. I am currently enrolled in this list-serv, and the topics suggested for next year’s conference are interesting and quite worthwhile.
I want to begin by expressing my thanks to the Lois Swan Jones Award Committee and to all who made this award possible. This award provided me the opportunity to attend my first ARLIS/NA conference. As a student, attending this conference has strengthened my interest in pursuing a career in the field. This experience opened up my understanding of the real issues at work in art and architecture information positions.
On my first day at the conference in Atlanta, I participated in The Art and Architecture of Death Tour through Oakland Cemetery. The tour, conducted at twilight was a great way to learn about the history of Atlanta, the people, and the built works in the cemetery. It was also an informal way to interact with other conference attendees.
I started off several mornings with a yoga session that prepared me mentally and physically for the conference sessions to come. The first session I attended was Backpack to Briefcase, where professionals in the field shared their experiences and advice with students and recent graduates. As a student, this was particularly helpful in answering the many questions that arise as we transition into a professional role. Topics discussed were how to plan for your career, the importance of theory as well as practice in research, places to look non-traditional job opportunities, taking advantage of professional development opportunities, and navigating the tenure track.
Next, I attended the Architecture Section Meeting. The primary topic of discussion centered around the transitional period in ARLIS and potential dissolution of roundtables and sections in favor of a more fluid structure. While this could increase interchange and decrease the bureaucratic structure, there is concern that without a dedicated section, architecture would lose its presence within the organization. The idea of special interest groups was considered, wherein each group could determine its own structure, purpose, and requirements. The section determined there is sufficient interest and commitment to maintaining a group in some form. There was a call for thoughtfully considering the purpose of the group as this will contribute to the future organization.
The session Architecture of the Old South was appealing, as I am primarily interested in architecture resources and architectural history. Robert Leath of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) discussed the resources held at his institution and the questions that arise when attempting to present historically accurate recreations of architectural settings. Liz Gushy of the University of Virginia Fine Arts Library reported on a digital initiative of Frances Benjamin Johnston's work. Johnston was a photographer committed to documenting the vernacular architecture of Virginia as well as other southern locations. Louis P. Nelson of the University of Virginia's School of Architecture introduced his research on the relationship between the 18th century Anglican Church and social order, where architecture can be used as a lens through which to view social experience.
On Saturday, I started out with the Ten Years After: A Decade of Copyright Developments session, where legal experts discussed legislative initiatives, implications for digital copies, impact of recent lawsuits on visual images, and concerns regarding new works based on older works. Both lawyers presented Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corporation as a case where determinations were made regarding image size (thumbnail), commercial intent, and transformative use. The argument is that courts are looking at transformative nature as the primary issue.
Power to the People: Social Tagging and Controlled Vocabularies introduced the possibilities that others are exploring through new technologies. Speakers addressed their projects and how to allow for metadata contributions while maintaining authority. It was proposed that the value of social tagging is in representing the relationships that exist between things, as opposed to the terms applied.
My Sunday began with The Evolving Data Standards Landscape: Leading the Way to Integrated Access allowed speakers to discuss the various data content and data format standards in use in libraries, archives, and museums, namely RDA, CCO, DACS, MARC, VRA Core 4 and CDWA Lite XML. Speakers focused on where materials types intersect. According to Matthew Beacon, as many repositories begin digitizing materials, the physical distinctions between repositories are blurred so intellectual descriptions should allow for shared ideas. The primary lessons or objectives formulated are the importance of applying standards, sharing terminologies, and establishing shareable core metadata.
Atlanta and the Architecture of Twentieth-Century Georgia focused on the spread of modern architecture and the reactions to new styles in Georgia. Benjamin Flowers, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, discussed the spread of European modernism to the United States, especially through the work of Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius. Elizabeth Dowling of the Georgia Institute of Technology spoke about the work of Philip Schutze, a classical Georgia architect who worked during the time of modernism and rejected the functionalism of modern architecture. Robert Craig of Georgia Tech presented the work of several architects, namely Tucker and Howell and Alfred Willis.
To contribute at the conference, I volunteered at the registration desk on Saturday afternoon. This provided an opportunity to interact with other ARLIS members and learn more about the organization, the conference, and Atlanta. On my last night, I attended the Convocation Ceremony and Reception and experienced camaraderie and support within the organization. The reception was an excellent opportunity to meet more members, share conference experiences, and enjoy a lovely evening of music by the Dwight Andrews Jazz Band with Atlanta's High Museum of Art serving as the backdrop.
This award encouraged me to attend the conference. I truly appreciate the financial assistance, which always makes attending a conference easier, especially for a student. I am honored to have been selected as a recipient. The support of the Texas-Mexico chapter provided me with a chance to experience the conference and strengthen my membership in ARLIS/NA.
Sincerely,
Katie Pierce
School of Information
University of Texas at Austin
Mark Pompelia (pompelia@rice.edu)
Academic Libraries
Laura Schwartz (lschwartz@austin.utexas.edu)
Architecture Libraries
Janine Henri (jhenri@mail.utexas.edu)
Museum Libraries
Jon Evans (jevans@mfah.org)
Public Libraries
Gwen Dixie (gdixie@dallaslibrary.org)
Visual Resources
Mark Pompelia (pompelia@rice.edu)
Deadline for Fall 2007 Issue (v. 33, no. 3): November 15, 2007
Welcome to the first issue of volume 33 of The Medium, the first from term-appointed Vice President and Web site administrator Mark Pompelia. This issue features the first column from your new, two-year President, Selene Hinojosa. Be sure to read the annual report submitted to the executive board of ARLIS/NA from Past President Elizabeth Schaub. And lastly you'll want to keep current with chapter member news by reviewing the various entries assembled by our column editors.
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
Little did I suspect last October in San Antonio, that I would be the one writing you by the following spring. I had hope there would be time to figure out what was expected of me as a VP, President Elect. I’m not complaining. But I am sorry that I missed the opportunity to work with Sam Duncan on behalf of ARLIS/Texas-Mexico Chapter. Sam is still with us, in spirit for certain, and just minutes away from me in Austin. However, due to the demands of his new position, he had to resign as our incoming President. As webmaster, he gave our newsletter a stylish new look, and for this too, he will be esteemed and missed.
Oh well, on to the good news.
Our elected executive committee is now comprised of me (your new President), and thankfully, Catherine Essinger remains Chapter Secretary, and Craig Bunch remains our Chapter Treasurer. I was faced with two choices, either send out a call to you all, asking for volunteers to run in an election to fill the President position, or take it on early (and for two years) and appoint a single term VP. I hope I made the choice all of you would have preferred, and asked Mark Pompelia, our former President (2004-2005) and bearer of the bad news about Sam, to serve as our VP, just for the year (and to help me out). To continue taking the bad news about Sam out on him, I accepted Mark’s offer to serve as our Web master. Elizabeth Schaub, last year’s President (2006), and this year’s incoming ARLIS/NA South Regional Representative, graciously offered to help with advice and guidance for however long we need her. I am incredibly grateful to them all, and to all of you for the help and support offered thus far, and which I am confident will be offered in the future.
We will continue to plan for this year’s chapter meeting in Dallas/Ft. Worth, and to try and make it all you hoped it would be.
I hope all of you are out there cheering, or at least grateful it doesn’t have to be you this time. I understand. Please do not hesitate to contact me to let me know what you think, what you want, and what you believe will best serve the ARLIS/Texas-Mexico Chapter in the next two years.
Sincerely,
Gloria Selene Hinojosa
President, Art Libraries Society of North America, Texas-Mexico Chapter
Elizabeth Schaub, Past President of ARLIS/TXMX, authored the chapter's annual report for 2006. The report may be downloaded below.
The UT Fine Arts Library has been selected as the winner in two categories of Texas Library Association's first ever Texas Libraries Public Relations Branding Iron Awards. The Fine Arts Library won in the non-traditional media category and in the marketing plan category. The winners in the individual categories were published in the Saturday issue of the TLA conference onsite newsletter and all the winning entries will be showcased in the summer issue of the Texas Library Journal.
Laura Schwartz, Head Librarian, Fine Arts Library, UT Austin is the recepient of the 2007 ARLIS/NA Conference Attendance Award which is a cash award of $750.
During the last several years, Rice University's Fondren Library underwent significant changes. Plans to demolish the existing building and build a new library with two floors below grade were abandoned after extensive flooding in Houston during June 2001. To address critical space shortages, the University Librarian and planners embarked on two major solutions: a new storage facility and a library renovation.
The university decided to build a library storage facility about 5 miles from campus, on land that had been donated by Raymond Brochstein. Carlos Jimenez Studios designed a high-density storage facility that recently received a 2007 Honor Award from the Houston Chapter of the AIA. Construction began in February 2003 and the facility was completed by March 2004. The transfer of books, serials, LPs, and archival materials began in January 2004 and as of January 2007, over 600,000 items have been processed and stored in the Library Service Center.
Major renovation to the interior of Fondren Library began in May 2005. The project's architects were Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott, Ray Bailey Architects, and Linbeck Construction. All departments were relocated at various stages of the demolition and renovation process and Collection Development librarians worked to transfer materials from stack areas to be renovated. Most of the renovation was completed by December 2006. The Government Publications and Microforms Department is now located in greatly expanded and improved public and office spaces, and the Technical Services Department and Reference/Collection Development librarians moved into renovated areas. Work is almost complete on the last phase, which involves facilities for the library's computer and IT staff.
The most dramatic changes are on the first, second, and sixth floors. A new west entrance directly opposite the original east entrance of the building is linked by a lighted walkway that bisects the first floor. From this central east-west axis, there is access to an elevator and restrooms. The Circulation & Reserve Desk, staff space, and the "scatter room" now have spacious quarters adjacent to the west entrance. The Reference Desk is placed at the edge of an array of study cubicles with public access Macintosh workstations, and is also adjacent to a large section of study cubicles with Macs reserved for Rice student use only. Throughout the first floor there are 62 carrels for individual study. The second floor features the most dramatic physical changes with six new group study rooms and 18 individual study carrels. The largest group study room is furnished with projection and display equipment. The small sixth floor has been converted into a comfortable study area with ample lounge furniture. There are also two rooms, with one reserved for group study that is equipped with ports and display screens. Access to this floor is restricted to Rice students and faculty.
The Circulation/Reserve Desk of the Brown Fine Arts Library was closed on August 1, 2006. The Circulation Supervisor and the weekend supervisor transferred their responsibilities to
Fondren's Circulation Department. During the spring of 2006, Mary Du Mont, Music Librarian, and Jet Prendeville, Art/Architecture Librarian, worked on challenges related to the transition and transfer of materials. All Fine Arts and music CDs, videos, and DVDs were transferred to Fondren Circulation. Over 6,000 art and architecture oversize volumes, folios, and rare books were sent to the Library Service Center. All circulation and reserve functions are now handled by the Fondren Circulation Department. The remainder of the Fine Arts collection remains within the confines of the Brown Fine Arts Library. Eventually the doors along the perimeter of the Fine Arts Library will be removed to allow easier access to the rest of the third floor collection. These doors are currently unlocked. Only the main entry doors will remain, so they can be closed to block noise from receptions that are frequently held in an adjacent public area.
Since Fall 2004, Jet Prendeville has been working closely with the Visual Arts faculty to develop a small collection of livres d'artistes by post World War II American artists. Two of the most significant and beautiful books acquired are Jim Dine's Temple of Flora and Robert Motherwell's El Negro. Plans are underway for the Visual Arts Department and Fondren Library to host an exhibition of the livres d'artistes sometime in September 2007. A reception and a program of invited speakers are also being planned.
Submitted by Jet Prendeville
Jessica Lu has received a Helen Jones Foundation grant of $35,000. The grant was awarded to the Texas Tech University Libraries for the purpose of obtaining an architecture digital image collection and to license the Archivision Digital Archive. Ms. Lu is the Architecture Image Librarian for the Architecture Library's Visual Resources Collection.
Submitted by Bonnie Reed
Sam Duncan joined the University of Texas at Austin's School of Architecture in November 2006 as the new Director of the Materials Lab. Former Director Tara Carlisle left the university in August. Most of you will know that Sam comes to U.T. from Fort Worth, where he worked at the Amon Carter Museum as the technical services librarian. As a result of Sam's job change he regrettably announced his resignation from the ARLIS/Texas-Mexico Presidency.
Sanctioning Modernism, an exhibition of materials drawn from the Alexander Architectural Archive and the Architecture and Planning Library's Special Collection, held in conjunction with a symposium on post-World War II architecture is on view in the Reading Room of the Architecture and Planning Library at the University of Texas at Austin through May 2007.
Janine Henri and Beth Dodd presented on Architectural Archives and Special Collections: Best Practices for Libraries Supporting Schools of Architecture at this year's meeting of the Association of Architecture School Librarians (AASL) in Philadelphia (see the AASL conference website for more information). This meeting is held in conjunction with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Beth Dodd was the recipient of the first travel award offered by the AASL. Janine Henri was elected Vice-President/President-Elect of AASL and will be planning the next AASL conference, scheduled for March 27-30, 2008, in Houston.
Kathryn Pierce, Alexander Architectural Archive Processor (Graduate Research Assistant), is the recipient of ARLIS/Texas-Mexico's Lois Swan Jones Professional Development Award. Katie is currently a student in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin, and she will begin graduate study in architecture history at U.T. Austin this fall.
Janine Henri and Heather Ball co-authored "Library Support for Study Abroad and Distance Education Programs," published in the January ACSANews (vol.36, no.5, p.44).
In February 2007, the American Institute of Architects announced that Battle Hall (home of the Architecture and Planning Library) was included on its list of America's Favorite Architecture. KXAN (Television Channel 36) featured Battle Hall on the 6 o'clock news on Friday Feb. 9, 2007 (Janine Henri was interviewed briefly for that program).
Submitted by Janine Henri
The Hirsch Library’s seventh Highlights of the Hirsch Library exhibition opened on April 17. Installed in a small gallery near the library in the Caroline Wiess Law Building of the MFAH, the exhibition, Building Foundations: Ima Hogg and Bayou Bend in the 1920s, offers a glimpse of the key role Miss Hogg played in Bayou Bend’s original design and construction. Items on display from the MFAH Archives and the Hirsch Library include auction catalogs that Miss Hogg used in acquiring items for her collection and letters from the decorative artist William Mackay regarding designs for the dining room wall covering. Mackay’s original watercolor and gouache schemes are also on display along with a fragment of the final painted canvas. A 1920’s portrait of Miss Hogg by Wayman Adams is also included, as well as the New England colonial chair that Miss Hogg saw in Mr. Adams’s studio and credited with inspiring her interest in American decorative arts.
Kerri Menchaca, who has been a part-time Reference Assistant in the library for over a year, moved into the full-time Acquisitions Assistant position on February 21, replacing Amy Sullivan, who is now at the Menil Museum. We are happy to have Kerri with us on a full-time basis as she deals with the book orders and budget during the busy last months of the fiscal year.
Submitted by Margaret Culbertson
Mark Pompelia has volunteered to be part of a steering committee to revive the dormant Texas chapter of the Visual Resources Association. This will involve reviewing the chapter bylaws, officer recruitment for fall elections, and exploring a joint meeting with ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico this coming fall.
Elizabeth Schaub participated in the seminar titled Are We Speaking the Same Language? Communication Strategies for the Visual Resources Professional at the Visual Resources Association’s annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri (March 27-31, 2007). Elizabeth’s presentation focused on strategies for effective communication with student employees.
Mark Pompelia (pompelia@rice.edu)
Academic Libraries
Laura Schwartz (lschwartz@austin.utexas.edu)
Architecture Libraries
Janine Henri (jhenri@mail.utexas.edu)
Museum Libraries
Jon Evans (jevans@mfah.org)
Public Libraries
Gwen Dixie (gdixie@dallaslibrary.org)
Visual Resources
Mark Pompelia (pompelia@rice.edu)
Deadline for Summer 2007 Issue (v. 33, no. 2): August 5, 2007
Welcome to the final issue of volume 32 of The Medium. This number features reports from the chapter’s 2006 annual meeting, President Schaub’s farewell report, and another installment in the collection profile series covering the Alexander Architectural Archive at The University of Texas at Austin. The issue closes with a stimulating roundup of member news.
As I sit writing my column for the final issue of this year’s Medium I find it hard to believe that my tenure as president is quickly coming to an end. It has been a pleasure serving the chapter and working with colleagues across Texas, especially Vice President/President Elect Sam Duncan. The chapter will be in good hands under Sam’s guidance in 2007.
Our progressive meeting beginning in Austin, traveling to San Marcos, and then on to San Antonio allowed attendees to explore a wide variety of cultural institutions in three notable Texas cities. As always the meeting provided a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with colleagues.
I would like to acknowledge chapter members Craig Bunch, Beth Dodd, Sam Duncan, Mark Pompelia, and Laura Schwartz for assisting with the planning process and Beth Dodd and husband Greg Smith, Carla Ellard, Selene Hinojosa, and Karen Sigler for generously hosting portions of the weekend’s activities.
You can read summaries of the various activities submitted by chapter members in attendance elsewhere in this issue.
I would like to follow up with you regarding a number of items addressed by the chapter at our most recent meeting.
As most of you are now aware, membership in our chapter is contingent on membership in ARLIS/NA. During the course of this year I have been working closely with South Regional Representative Heather Ball to encourage communication between chapters and ARLIS/NA Headquarters regarding membership issues not only so that chapters can ensure that members are in compliance with their own bylaws—as well as ARLIS/NA’s bylaws—but also so chapters and ARLIS/NA can work in concert to support recruitment efforts. At this time I do not feel that a sufficient solution has been implemented, and I am committed to continuing a dialog with the ARLIS/NA Board and Headquarters to encourage necessary and positive change.
In the meantime, if you have renewed your chapter membership but have not renewed your membership in ARLIS/NA I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. ARLIS/NA’s membership form is available online.
Chapter liability has become a topic of discussion in the wake of the ARLIS/NA Chapter Affiliation Agreement. The agreement codifies in legal terms the relationship between chapters and ARLIS/NA so that ARLIS/NA will not be held liable for an individual chapter’s actions.
Following our chapter meeting, I contacted ARLIS/NA Executive Director Elizabeth Clarke via the chapter officer listserv to find out whether chapter officers might be covered under the ARLIS/NA insurance umbrella.
In Elizabeth Clarke’s response on 10/25/06, she stated that “... it [ARLIS/NA’s insurance policy] doesn't cover chapter officers because they are not part of the Governing body of ARLIS/NA. They are the Governing body of the chapter. So unfortunately, no, Chapter officers are not covered by the ARLIS/NA insurance coverage.”
This fact brings to the fore the potential risk chapter officers face if something were to occur that might prompt legal action against the chapter. I have done some preliminary investigation into non-profit unincorporated entities and their legal status as noted in the President’s Column appearing in v. 32: 2 of The Medium. Since then it has come to my attention that the Texas Library Association offers its members professional liability insurance at a very reasonable rate.
Further investigation into the matter of liability insurance for chapter officers and how best to approach the need once a risk assessment has been completed will continue into 2007.
Serving as an ARLIS/Texas-Mexico chapter officer over the last four years has helped me fine tune my leadership skills and has allowed me to cultivate important relationships with colleagues from a variety of institutions.
Thank you to all the members who put their trust in my abilities and as a result helped me grow professionally. I am indebted to my most immediate predecessors Mark Pompelia, Jon Evans, and Laura Schwartz whose standards for service I aspired to meet while in office.
Thanks to chapter Treasurer Craig Bunch for his unflagging service, congratulations and thanks to incoming Secretary Catherine Essinger for stepping in and taking the annual meeting minutes in San Antonio, and thanks to Sam Duncan for his commitment to the chapter as not only Vice President/President Elect but also as the chapter’s indefatigable Webmaster.
Finally I want to acknowledge South Regional Representative Heather Ball. Heather has been a model regional representative providing a conduit for communication between the chapter, the Board, and Headquarters. I've been able to rely on her for guidance and sage advice throughout the year.
It has been a pleasure serving as the chapter’s president in 2006; I look forward to fulfilling my role as past president in the coming year.
Heather Ball
ARLIS/NA South Regional Representative
Dear ARLIS/TX-Mexico Members,
Here in Blacksburg the leaves are turning amazing colors—golden yellows and bright oranges …it’s very pretty, but I still miss Texas! I can’t tell you how much I will miss the chapter meeting this year. I will never forget Marfa and how much fun it was to spend time with you all last year. Have a margarita for me.
Now, down to business. Regarding affiliation: if you have any questions at all, or concerns about this process, please let Elizabeth know. She has been participating in discussions on a chapter leaders listserv and is up to speed on the affiliation process. To date, four chapters have signed affiliation agreements, including one from our very own region: DC-MD-VA, Northern CA, Twin Cities, and Mountain West have all signed their affiliation agreements. We have also heard positive reports coming back from several other chapters who are preparing to sign.
Many chapters are opting to vote on this issue. Voting makes this decision much easier for chapter leaders—I urge you to conduct a vote on the affiliation within your chapter. Additionally, I know that your chapter leaders will be working on bringing the chapter’s bylaws into compliance with ARLIS/NA bylaws. Whatever changes are decided upon, these will need to be submitted to the Board for review in time for us to approve the changes at the pre-conference Board meeting in 2007 (preferably by February 1st so we can send back comments ahead of time, if necessary).
Regarding liability coverage for the chapter. A chapter may decide to go ahead and consult with a lawyer to have a waiver created for a chapter activity – that is at the discretion of the chapter. However, the lawyer that the Board consulted says he does not have much confidence in waivers. Here are some other options that chapters may want to pursue:
Please also remember that the chapter should notify the Board of new chapter leaders by March 1st. This is so we are certain to invite the appropriate individuals to the Leadership Breakfast (aka: pile o’ eggs) next year at the conference in Atlanta.
I hope you have a great chapter meeting! See you in Atlanta!
Best,
Heather
Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries,
The University of Texas at Austin
PO Box P (BTL200 S5430)
Austin, TX 78713-8916 USA
Telephone: 512-495-4621
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/apl/aaa/
Alexander Archive Stacks
Beth Dodd's Office
The Alexander Architectural Archive at the University of Texas at Austin is an architectural research center of national importance. As a unit of the University of Texas Libraries within the Architecture and Planning Library, the Archive supports research and education about the history of the built environment by acquiring and preserving research collections and by making them accessible. The Archive also supports learning opportunities and scholarly activities for students studying preservation of the cultural record and archival enterprise.
The Alexander Architectural Archive is a repository of over 100 collections of material preserved to enrich and serve our architectural heritage. Holdings include documentation involved in the management of a firm, the development of a project design through the finished product, and other activities occurring in the lives of architects, landscape architects, planners, designers, preservationists, historians, educators, and related businesses. These documents may also reflect personal travel, writings, educational activities, professional associations and other related interests.
The Alexander Architectural Archive supports instruction in the School of Architecture through the doctoral level in architectural design, history, preservation and community and regional planning; and the bachelor level in Interior Design. The Archive also supports research in history, art history, American Studies, anthropology, and engineering, as well as that undertaken by design professionals, governmental agencies, and others involved in the preservation and restoration of properties. The Alexander Architectural Archive is available to all serious inquirees for research and scholarship.
Preservation activities and issues are essential to the mission of the Alexander Architectural Archive. The Archive currently oversees and performs archival preservation work with assistance from the Kilgarlin Center for the Preservation of the Cultural Record. Additionally, the Archive offers storage and care guidelines to other institutions, caretakers of architectural records, and the general public. The Archive also supports the preservation of architectural records by sponsoring the Texas Committee for the Preservation of Architectural Records (TxCOPAR), which serves as a cooperative resource for institutions containing architectural, planning, and landscape records in Texas.
Blake Alexander started what has become known as the Alexander Architectural Archive in 1958, after he directed a team of student architects recording historic buildings in Pennsylvania for the Historic American Buildings Survey. Professor Alexander adapted the HABS format to his own course at UT, requiring students in his architectural history class to measure and draw historic Texas buildings as one of their assignments. Known as the Texas Architecture Archive, this rapidly expanding collection soon outgrew his office and was moved into a small storage room, otherwise known as “Alexander's closet. ”
In the mid-1960s, one of Professor Alexander’s students arrived with large paper sacks filled with tattered, water-damaged drawings. As Professor Alexander examined them, it became apparent that they had in fact been through a flood - the great Galveston hurricane of 1900. These drawings, by the well-known Galveston architect Nicholas Clayton, had been given to the student by Clayton's granddaughter and became the first professional records to be deposited in his collection.
The Clayton drawings opened up the prospect of seeking original drawings of other important Texas architects whose records needed to be preserved. In 1979, the General Libraries (now the University of Texas Libraries) became the repository of the records, and it was moved to the Architecture and Planning Library and named “The Architectural Drawings Collection.”
Other collections became available as word spread of this new resource. The family of Robert Ayres generously donated the records of the San Antonio firm of Ayres and Ayres. About the same time, Professor Alexander contacted a descendant of James Riely Gordon, one of the premier designers of Texas courthouses to obtain his vast collection of documents. Professor Alexander also helped secure the acquisition of the original design drawings for The University of Texas campus by Paul Philippe Cret.
Today, the Alexander Architectural Archive is the largest such resource in Texas, containing over a quarter of a million drawings and nearly 2,000 linear feet of papers, photographic material, models and ephemera, representing thousands of projects in Texas as well as New York, Chicago, California, Great Britain, and some Latin American countries. Professor Alexander was a pioneer in recognizing the importance of preserving architectural records. The resources he collected have played an important role in the restoration of many of Texas' most important buildings and continues to be essential for the study of American architectural history.
In 1997, the Texas Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians sponsored a campaign to name this valuable archive after its founder. The University, in support, recognized that without Alexander’s initiative, records of our architectural heritage would have perished from neglect. It is with great appreciation and celebration that the collection he founded is named the Alexander Architectural Archive.
The ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico Chapter meeting began Friday, October 20 with a presentation from Thomson-Gale representative LuAnn Harrison, who presented a few of their databases including Eighteenth-century Collections Online, Sabin America, 1500-1926, and Corbis Images for Education. Our chapter was interested in ways that these databases would be beneficial to the patrons we serve.
Sabin Americana, 1500-1926, is based on Joseph Sabin’s Bibliotecha Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to America From Its Discovery to the Present Time. The database contains books, pamphlets, and serials from a variety of genres including memoirs, travelogues, and sermons all predominantly in English. Currently a user can search the full-text of 27,459 titles, but this number will keep growing as they add new titles. Based on the ESTC (English Short Title Catalog), Eighteenth-century Collections Online allows full-text searching of over 138,000 titles which cover the American and French revolutions and the industrial revolution. As far as being beneficial to the art community, these databases may contain materials with biographical information on artists or materials that reference works of art in collections or exhibition catalogues, which could prove valuable for provenance research.
The third Thomson-Gale database that our chapter looked at was Corbis Images for Education. The Corbis resource is somewhat similar to ARTstor, an image database with downloadable images and brief information about the image. The major difference is that Corbis does not currently contain nearly as many fine art images as ARTstor. Corbis plans to add more fine art images in the future but for now,